New York Times Company Foundation Grants Scholarship Support For Theater Journalists To O’Neill Critics Institute

Waterford, CT, April 22, 2002 – The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s summer program for theater writers, the O’Neill Critics Institute (OCI), will offer 10 full scholarships to working journalists, thanks to support from The New York Times Company Foundation, Inc. Scholarships will cover all fees for the two-week institute, including tuition, room and board.

The Times Co. Foundation’s interest in the Critics Institute corresponds to its creation of other institutes intended to advance journalists’ knowledge in specific fields. “We originally thought about creating our own Times Institute for critics,” said Jack Rosenthal, president of The Times Co. Foundation, “But then we realized that the O’Neill Center offered a splendid focus for just the kind of experience we’d like to provide. We’re pleased to be partners.”

OCI Director Dan Sullivan commented, “Just as artists need to re-examine their process from time to time, so do critics. For the working theater critic, there's no better place to do that than the O’Neill, and these grants open the process to writers of all generations and incomes. We couldn't be more grateful.”

The O’Neill has operated the Critics Institute since 1968. Several hundred writers have graduated from OCI, including alumni at the Associated Press (London), CHICAGO TRIBUNE, CNN News, DENVER POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES, MIAMI HERALD and SUNDAY TRIBUNE (Dublin).

This year, in order to make the program more accessible to professional journalists, the O’Neill Critics Institute is running in two, two-week sessions, June 30 through July 13 and July 14 through July 27. Institute students, or fellows, have access to a rotating faculty of leading theater critics from across the country – writers such as Michael Feingold of THE VILLAGE VOICE, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE’S Michael Phillips, and NEWSDAY’S Linda Winer. The Critics Institute runs in partnership with the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, a leading new-play laboratory since 1965, uniquely offering the critic fellows both structured and free-ranging interactions with authors, directors, dramaturgs and actors, providing the fellows with deeper insight into the creative process.

The application deadline was originally April 15, however the deadline has been extended to May 15 to accommodate applicants specifically needing scholarship support. To qualify for the Times Co. Foundation’s scholarship, the applicant must be currently employed as a theater or arts journalist, or have substantial experience as a stringer or freelance writer. Those interested in attending the O’Neill Critics Institute may call the O’Neill at (860) 443-5378 to receive an application, or find it here.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is dedicated to the advancement of new work for the theater and creates and operates programs which complement that goal. These include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists. The O’Neill also owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, childhood home of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, and holds an annual celebration honoring the life and works of its namesake every October.